Why should we care: Vick launches clothing line

Bloggers from Couchsideshow.com are constantly reading some pretty silly headlines from all across the wide world of sports. Whether it’s about an athlete being seen at a mall or an irrelevant trade, the fact is, someone has written about it. Sometimes these “stories” are annoying. Sometime they are entertaining. So we’ve decided to take a look at three of these headlines and make a weekly blog: “Why should we care?” Enjoy part two of the ongoing series …

With baseball at a standstill, the NBA offseason somewhat stealing headlines and Football still months away from its opening kick off, the mainstream media doesn’t have much to write about. So when Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick released his new clothing line Wednesday afternoon, I wasn’t surprised to see that the Associated Press picked up the story. Three years after being released from prison, Vick expanded his brand by releasing new threads with his clever brand name “V7.” At least that’s appropriate. But the rest of this “breaking news” doesn’t make sense to me. Only the elite of the elite should release their own clothing lines. Michael Jordan obviously has his own clothing line rightfully called Michael Jordan brand; Shaquille O’Neal sells clothes at Wal-Mart or K-Mart, I can’t remember; and Venus and Serena Williams have “Eleven.” Those types of athletes have the star power behind them to push clothes onto the public. Vick’s case to do the same is arguable, especially because of his run in with the law. But I guess if you have the money, you can throw it away however you want. I hope Vick has as much luck as Sacramento Kings forward John Salmons, who surprisingly has a line called Salmons & Brown. Ever heard of it? No? That’s OK, neither have I.

The bigger names in NBA free agency have already been lifted off the market, but why is Rashard Lewisconsidered one of them? First there was a report on how Lewis might sign with the Miami Heat. Then there was another about how he probably would. And finally, today, a press release confirmed the 13-year-pro did in fact sign with the reigning NBA champs. Now, it’s one thing to get excited about the Heat bringing in sharp shooter Ray Allen. However, it’s another to give a ton of press for the signing of a player who is clearly past his prime. Lewis was a machine about eight years ago when he could consistently chip in 20 points on any given night. Since then, Lewis has drastically dropped off in minutes, production and salary. Last season, the 6-foot-10 deep threat averaged just 7.8 points per game for the Washington Wizards. For that effort, he was given his walking papers in a trade to the New Orleans Hornets, which later released Lewis strictly to clear cap room. Enter the Miami Heat. The front office of this year’s champions decided to swing in and pick up the veteran despite their desperate need for a post player. Miami already has Shane Battier as their backup small forward. The move for Lewis makes no sense. So hence, we shouldn’t care.

St. Louis Rams QB Sam Bradford was one of the best Oklahoma passers of all time. Photo by: SD Dirk / Flickr

Football reporters are desperate this time of year, making this weekly column sometimes NFL heavy. Let’s pretend you were the St. Louis Rams beat reporter. You’ve already written numerous pieces about Jeff Fischer and Sam Bradford. So what’s next? How about another lengthy story about Bradford. Except this time we’ll ask him if he regrets staying at Oklahoma for four seasons. Give me a break. Do we really think three years after Bradford made his decision to return for his senior year that he would say something like, ‘no that was really stupid?’ What is stupid is that this story will probably carry the biggest headline in tomorrow’s sports section of the St. Louis News-Dispatch. There is the fact that current Sooner QB Landry Jones also decided to play all four years that makes this piece somewhat relevant, but it’s not about him. Yet it’s rather just another fluff piece about how Bradford looks to rebound after hitting Injured Reserve last season. We’ve heard that tale already this offseason. Please don’t try to dress it up in another way.

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